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Winston Churchill: St. Catharines residents who want their say on the future of four city secondary schools are being encouraged to attend one of a series of public meetings the District School Board of Niagara is holding as part of an accommodation review for St. Catharines and Thorold.
Kernahan Park, Sir Winston Churchill, St. Catharines Collegiate, West Park and Thorold Secondary are all under the microscope during this initial review, and public meetings and tours at the schools are planned over the coming weeks. The first visit is Thursday, Oct. 20, with the meeting at Kernahan Park at 6 p.m. and Thorold Secondary School. Tours and meetings at the other schools will be held Thursday, Oct. 27, with Sir Winston Churchill at 5 p.m., St. Catharines Collegiate at 6:15 p.m. and West Park at 7:30 p.m.
DSBN trustee Lora Campbell, who sits as a trustee representative on the accommodation review committee (ARC), encourages the public to attend the meetings, and share their input. The public’s feedback, she said, is critical to the process of deciding the schools’ futures.
“We are hoping people will come out to these and we want to hear what they have to say, either for or against,” said Campbell. “We need to hear from them.”
The DSBN, which recently closed Niagara-on-the-Lake’s public high school after a similar review, said the outcome of the ARC involving the Thorold and St. Catharines schools could be school closures, merging or renovating schools, or building new schools. Campbell says the whole process is emotional — especially when considering a potential closure of a school — and now is the time for the public to share its input, rather than after the decision is made. While the ARC is leading the way over the coming months, with recommendations anticipated by about mid-February, the school board will have the ultimate decision at the end of the day.
“In a word, it’s gut-wrenching,” said Campbell. “(As a trustee) it’s very emotional for me too. It’s not easy.”
The whole process, she stresses, is not just about closing schools.
“It’s about whether or not the programming is being carried out and are the accommodations safe for our children. Do they have enough amenities? There are a lot of different questions that need to be addressed,” she said. “There are so many things to the building, and then there is the programming issues.”
One particular area of interest, said Campbell, is some of the age of some facilities. She said as they get older, they are more difficult to maintain, especially with a limited envelope of funding from the province. That’s where the tours, and meetings, are important for the public to see what resources the DSBN is dealing with, she said.
“They’ll find out the money is coming for a certain envelope and we have to prove the buildings are viable,” she said.
In a report to DSBN trustees in May, planning and transportation superintendent Marilyn Hyatt said about 80 per cent of the board’s schools are more than 40 years old, making them some of the oldest facilities in the province.
As those schools age, they become increasingly expensive to maintain, with everything from new roofs and heating systems to electrical upgrades and window replacements needed, Hyatt said.
Along with their age, many Niagara schools are seeing hallways get more and more empty: The five high schools are only running at about 69 per cent capacity, with 3,043 students in schools capable of handling 4,419, the report said.
Sir Winston Churchill is the anomaly of the schools being considered, coming in at over-capacity with 1,077 students enrolled in 2012 — 120 per cent utilization. Collegiate is at 62.3 per cent (731 students), West Park is 61.3 per cent (449 students) and Kernahan Park is at 50.1 per cent (388 students). Thorold Secondary School is the lowest of all five schools, with 398 students in a school capable of handling 849 — just 46.9 per cent of capacity.
Campbell said those who can’t attend the upcoming meetings are encouraged to submit their comments in other ways. People can give oral or written submissions, and residents are welcome to attend future ARC meetings. Information on the meetings, including the agendas, are on the DSBN website at .
While she doesn’t have a vote during the recommendation process — that role belongs to the ARC which is made up of representatives from the schools and community — Campbell is anxious to participate moving forward. A long-time trustee, she has been involved in the process in the past.
“I’m there as a resource and listener,” she said. “But I also want to hear what people say. This is the time.”
Kernahan Park, Sir Winston Churchill, St. Catharines Collegiate, West Park and Thorold Secondary are all under the microscope during this initial review, and public meetings and tours at the schools are planned over the coming weeks. The first visit is Thursday, Oct. 20, with the meeting at Kernahan Park at 6 p.m. and Thorold Secondary School. Tours and meetings at the other schools will be held Thursday, Oct. 27, with Sir Winston Churchill at 5 p.m., St. Catharines Collegiate at 6:15 p.m. and West Park at 7:30 p.m.
DSBN trustee Lora Campbell, who sits as a trustee representative on the accommodation review committee (ARC), encourages the public to attend the meetings, and share their input. The public’s feedback, she said, is critical to the process of deciding the schools’ futures.
“We are hoping people will come out to these and we want to hear what they have to say, either for or against,” said Campbell. “We need to hear from them.”
The DSBN, which recently closed Niagara-on-the-Lake’s public high school after a similar review, said the outcome of the ARC involving the Thorold and St. Catharines schools could be school closures, merging or renovating schools, or building new schools. Campbell says the whole process is emotional — especially when considering a potential closure of a school — and now is the time for the public to share its input, rather than after the decision is made. While the ARC is leading the way over the coming months, with recommendations anticipated by about mid-February, the school board will have the ultimate decision at the end of the day.
“In a word, it’s gut-wrenching,” said Campbell. “(As a trustee) it’s very emotional for me too. It’s not easy.”
The whole process, she stresses, is not just about closing schools.
“It’s about whether or not the programming is being carried out and are the accommodations safe for our children. Do they have enough amenities? There are a lot of different questions that need to be addressed,” she said. “There are so many things to the building, and then there is the programming issues.”
One particular area of interest, said Campbell, is some of the age of some facilities. She said as they get older, they are more difficult to maintain, especially with a limited envelope of funding from the province. That’s where the tours, and meetings, are important for the public to see what resources the DSBN is dealing with, she said.
“They’ll find out the money is coming for a certain envelope and we have to prove the buildings are viable,” she said.
In a report to DSBN trustees in May, planning and transportation superintendent Marilyn Hyatt said about 80 per cent of the board’s schools are more than 40 years old, making them some of the oldest facilities in the province.
As those schools age, they become increasingly expensive to maintain, with everything from new roofs and heating systems to electrical upgrades and window replacements needed, Hyatt said.
Along with their age, many Niagara schools are seeing hallways get more and more empty: The five high schools are only running at about 69 per cent capacity, with 3,043 students in schools capable of handling 4,419, the report said.
Sir Winston Churchill is the anomaly of the schools being considered, coming in at over-capacity with 1,077 students enrolled in 2012 — 120 per cent utilization. Collegiate is at 62.3 per cent (731 students), West Park is 61.3 per cent (449 students) and Kernahan Park is at 50.1 per cent (388 students). Thorold Secondary School is the lowest of all five schools, with 398 students in a school capable of handling 849 — just 46.9 per cent of capacity.
Campbell said those who can’t attend the upcoming meetings are encouraged to submit their comments in other ways. People can give oral or written submissions, and residents are welcome to attend future ARC meetings. Information on the meetings, including the agendas, are on the DSBN website at .
While she doesn’t have a vote during the recommendation process — that role belongs to the ARC which is made up of representatives from the schools and community — Campbell is anxious to participate moving forward. A long-time trustee, she has been involved in the process in the past.
“I’m there as a resource and listener,” she said. “But I also want to hear what people say. This is the time.”
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